Harry Potter and the Hogwarts Years
by deegardiner3
Summary: Things are a little different as Snape comes to take Harry to Diagon Alley - My version of the books. Starting with Philosopher's Stone.
1. Prologue: A Bit of History

**Title: **Harry Potter and the Hogwarts Years

**Publish Date: **22 May 2014

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter. I just love playing with the characters.

**Author's Note: **I know, I know, another new story. I'm sorry. This is actually a re-work (in a way) of "A Different Beginning" - Please bear with me.

**Prologue: A Bit of History**

**3 August 1989**

Harry Potter sat on the floor of Dudley's second bedroom. At least, it used to be Dudley's second bedroom. It was now Harry Potter's room.

Harry made a deal with his relatives that if he didn't get in trouble for a month, that he'd get to move out of the Cupboard under the Stairs, and into Dudley's second bedroom.

The eight-year old looked around; he had a lot of work to do. His Aunt had made Dudley clean out all the stuff he wanted already, so it was Harry's job to take care of all the trash. That was what the room was filled with: trash. And books that hadn't been read.

Those, Harry would leave.

**16 September 1990**

Nine year old Harry Potter looked up from his book. His gaze took in his burly uncle standing at his bedroom door, face as red as he'd ever seen it. _Aunt Petunia told him, _Harry thought glumly, closing his book. Huck Finn would have to wait.

"How dare you boy!" Vernon roared, slowly advancing on his nephew. "How dare you use your freakishness and dye your teacher's hair." His uncle was in a rage, looming over Harry. The child knew it was useless to try and deny it was him. In this case, he knew he somehow did it, but didn't know how.

"I'm very sorry uncle, I shouldn't've done it." Harry looked forlorn, waiting for his punishment.

"Garden, now! Weed, mow, paint the fence, and change the mulch. It better look perfect! No dinner!" Vernon stormed out the door while Harry moved to put on his shoes.

They always thought making Harry exhausted would make his 'freakishness' stop. Taking away dinner was the least of his worries. Hopefully he wouldn't get really punished.

Sighing, Harry re-shelved his book and made his way out the door. He had one thought as the door shut.

_I wish I could go off and have an adventure!_

**Author's Notes: **This is supposed to be a bit of a teaser chapter. Don't worry! Just click the next button to get into the story!

Happy Reading!

**Next Chapter: **I'm a What?


	2. Chapter 1: I'm a What?

**Title: **Harry Potter and the Hogwarts Years

**Publish Date: **22 May 2014

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter. I just love playing with the characters.

**Author's Note: **Some of you may recognize part of this chapter. It started off in "A Different Beginning" but when I realized how many plot holes that had and how terrible it was, I reformatted it to fit in this story. Basically, no Hagrid. Snape instead, cause I like him!

**Chapter 1: I'm a What?**

_One minute to go and he'd be eleven. Thirty seconds … Twenty ... Ten … Nine - maybe he'd wake Dudley up, just to annoy him - Three ... Two … One …_

_BOOM!_

_The whole shack shook and Harry sat bolt upright, staring at the door. Someone was outside, knocking to come in._

Another rumble of thunder came over the shack and Harry noticed a light shining through the cracks in the door frame. As he watched, the lights changed color - red, blue, and white, orange, yellow - and then the door flew off its hinges.

Recoiling from the flying object, Harry squinted towards the door. There, thoroughly soaked from the rain outside, stood a man with sallow skin and a prominent hooked nose.

The man looked annoyed, and, as the Dursley's burst into the room, Dudley ran over and hid behind his mother. Harry hadn't even realized his cousin woke up, such was the noise of the storm outside. Seeing the look on his uncle's face and the rifle in his hand - the contents of the mysterious package it seemed - Harry gulped in fear.

"I warn you," his Uncle called out, "I'm armed."

The stranger walked into the shack, sneering at Vernon and brushing raindrops off of his clothing. Harry didn't know what to call it. The man didn't seem like he'd appreciate it if Harry called his wardrobe a dress. It was too manly to qualify for a dress anyway.

As Harry pondered what to call the strange outfit the man wore, the stranger raised a stick and pointed it at the door. He muttered a word Harry didn't understand, and the door flew back and affixed itself to the frame. Muttering another word while pointing his stick at the shriveled potato crisp bags, a fire sprung up. Harry glanced a smirk on the man's face at this point.

Taking a seat on the couch, after piling all Dudley's blankets at one end, the man spoke. I am Professor Severus Snape. Mr. Potter, you are to come with me to buy school supplies, as it seems you will not get there without an escort."

Harry frowned, glancing at the murderous yet scared look on his Uncle's face. "Erm," he started, looking up to find Snape glaring at him. "I don't know what you mean, school supplies. Aunt Petunia dyed my uniform the other day, and my teacher said the rest of the supplies would be given through Stonewall. I-" Harry halted when Snape shot off the couch.

"Do you mean to tell me," he whispered furiously, striding over to the Dursleys, "that Lily's son knows nothing of his heritage? Nothing of what he is!" The Dursleys quivered in fear, Petunia trying to hide herself behind Vernon.

Harry, taking an insult to that spoke up. "What do you mean Professor? I'm just Harry." A glance from Snape told him to shut up, and since he found Snape scarier than his uncle, he did.

"Petunia!" Snape barked, causing everyone to jump. "You were left with a letter to tell Harry all about his mother, about himself. Did you not do that?" The Professor had advanced on Aunt Petunia, who huddled, curling into the corner, trying to separate herself from the raging man.

"Now see here." Uncle Vernon bellowed, raising the rifle in warning. "Don't think you can go intimidating my wife, you-" Vernon stopped talking as Snape raised his stick and the gun tied itself in a knot, then turned into liquid and flowed through Vernon's hands.

"Silence" Snape hissed, waving at all three Dursleys. "Incarcerous, Wingardium Leviosa." The Dursleys were bound in ropes then floated into the bedroom. Snape slashed his stick and the door slammed shut. The man then stalked over to the sofa and sat down, staring into the fire for a moment.

"Mr. Potter, take a seat on the chair. You are a human, and humans belong on furniture, not on the floor." He had still not looked at Harry at all.

Harry swallowed, not sure if he wanted to be left alone in a room with this man and his stick. He quickly took a seat on the chair, grateful for its proximity to the, now roaring, fire.

"Now then, Mr. Potter," Snape started, turning to the boy in question. He cut himself off as he gaped at the child. Swallowing harshly, at what? Harry wondered, he started speaking again. "What do you know of your parents?"

Harry thought for a moment, trying to piece together the little tidbits he had heard. Finally he replied "not much, Sir. I know that they were unemployed drunks who got killed in a car crash."

He flinched back when Snape swore vehemently. The Professor, perhaps seeing Harry's flinch, settled back on the sofa and took a few deep breaths. "That," he said, his voice tightly controlled, "is an utter lie. Your _relatives,_" Harry could hear the disdain when Snape spoke the word, "do not like what we are, what your parents were."

"Erm, Professor." Harry couldn't contain himself any longer. That was the second time Snape had mentioned 'what they were' that Harry had to know what he meant. "What do you mean 'what we are,' Sir?"

Snape gazed at Harry for a moment as if judging his reaction. Taking a breath, he replied. "We are wizards, Harry. Your parents were wizards." Harry gaped. Suddenly, the man handed Harry his stick. Harry looked down, rotating the stick in his hand. It was dark, Harry had never seen wood that dark. It seemed to have a wolf and snake carved into it. "That, Harry," Snape said, bringing Harry back to reality, "is a wand. Every witch or wizard gets one, and it is that which helps us do magic." As Harry handed it back, the wand emitted a few silver sparks, making Snape smirk.

Harry smiled, dreaming of his own wand. "Do motorbikes really fly with magic?" Harry blurted, thinking of his recurring dream.

Snape blinked, leaning forward and watching Harry intently. "You've seen a flying motorbike?"

"I dreamed of one, it's always the same. A woman screams, a laugh, a big flash of green light, pain, and a flying motorbike. Do they really fly?"

Snape nodded, leaning back. "Yes, Mr. Potter, there are flying motorbikes, though they are not common by any means." Harry's stomach rumbled then, and Snape smirked. "Mopsy."

Harry stared at him, wondering what a Mopsy was. He was just about to ask when he heard a POP and saw the strangest creature looking at him.

Snape must have seen the look on his face because he answered the unasked question. "That is a house-elf. This one, Mopsy, works at Hogwarts, the magic school you'll be attending." Turning from the child, he looked at the elf, who had yet to say a thing. "Mopsy, I'll need a small amount of food for the child, and I need you to give this to Professor Dumbledore." Harry realized Snape had an envelope in his hand. When he handed it to the elf, she disappeared again with another POP.

Harry's confusion was displayed on his face. "Your confirmation to attend Hogwarts," He said, nodding towards where Mopsy had stood. "While we are on the subject, here is the letter that you should have gotten." He handed Harry another letter, this one looked just like the letters the Dursleys were running from.

After reading the letter and glancing at the supply list, Harry grinned. He finally belonged somewhere. He didn't know how, but something in him believed all this magic talk, even though his uncle said it didn't exist. Snape cleared his throat and Harry looked up.

Sometime while he was reading the letter, a table had appeared right in front of him, loaded down with food. Gaping, Harry looked at Snape. "Eat, Harry. When you are finished, we are going back to sleep, and in the morning, we will be going shopping."

"Professor?" At Snape's look, Harry asked. "What are you wearing?"

Sneering at the child, Snape replied haughtily, "Robes. It is what all respectable wizards wear when not among muggles."

Harry decided to not ask what a muggle was and instead looked over the array of food.

Harry ate his fill, sampling a little of everything. Harry didn't know what the juice was, but he decided he liked it.

Fifteen minutes later, Harry sat back, full and sleepy. Snape waved his stick - _No,_ Harry corrected himself,_ his wand _\- and a mattress with blankets appeared where Harry had laid on the floor before. After a look from Snape, Harry climbed into the pile of blankets and closed his eyes. He heard a few sounds from the Professor settling himself, then let the sounds of the fire put him to sleep.

Harry opened his eyes to see Snape reading the newspaper. This would have been a common sight to Harry, after all, Uncle Vernon read the paper every day, but the pictures in the paper were moving.

"What is a Ministry?" Harry wondered aloud, seeing the headline.

"Good Morning Mr. Potter." Snape put the paper aside and motioned Harry off the mattress. With a flick of his wand, it was gone. Harry stared. "The Ministry is our government; its primary function is to keep muggles, non-magical people, unaware of our world." He stood, brushing off his robes.

"Why," Harry asked, putting on his trainers, and filing the information away for later.

"Because," the professor replied, "if they knew we existed, we would be hounded to magic up a solution to everyone's problems. Either that, or they'd turn on us, declaring us evil and fit to be eradicated."

"Oh."

"Come now, we have a lot of shopping to do today. Grab my arm." When Harry didn't move right away, Snape marched up to him and, grabbing his arm, spun around quickly.

Harry felt like he was being squeezed through a tube. Just when the feeling was about to make him sick, it ended. Looking around, Harry noticed they were in a dead-end alley with a couple barrels of trash.

Not wasting a moment, Snape pulled a baseball cap out of his pocket and slammed it on Harry's head. "Keep that on," he ordered, whipping out his wand and tapping some bricks on the wall in front of them. Harry stared in wonder as the wall faded away and was replaced with shops and people. He saw no less than a dozen pointed witch hats on the people nearby.

"This is Diagon Alley, where wizards shop in London. Stay close." Snape strode into the Alley, and Harry tried to keep up.

Noticing shops that sold cauldrons, and trunks, and owls, and brooms? Harry found it hard to keep pace with his Professor; he just wanted to explore. Snape reached out and grabbed his wrist, leading the boy steadily towards a white marble building in the distance.

Walking up the steps, Harry noticed some odd creatures standing by the doors. "Those are goblins. They run the bank." Snape released his arm as they passed through the second set of doors, pausing for a moment so that Harry could read the poem engraved on them.

He led them up to the nearest available teller's station, staffed by another goblin, and pulled out a key. "Mr. Potter would like to make a withdrawal." The goblin looked over at Harry, and sneering at the humans, pressed a button on his desk. Another goblin came over and, after a brief conversation in a language Harry didn't know, motioned them to a door.

They stepped through the door and into a mine cart. With a quick, amused, "hold on," the goblin hit a switch and the cart shot off into the darkness. Harry thought the ride was neat and tried to keep track of where they were going. When the cart did a complete flip, he decided that wasn't a very good idea, and looked at his hands.

With a jerk, the cart stopped. "Vault 687," the goblin called out, hoisting himself out of the cart. He turned the key and opened the doors. Snape again grabbed Harry's arm and pulled him into the vault.

"This is yours, Harry." He said, watching the boy glance around in wonder. "Take this." Snape handed him a couple of bags, and a wallet from a table inside the doors, along with the bank key the goblin had returned to him. "This was your father's," he said, handing the items to Harry. "Fill the bags." Harry did so, grabbing a couple handfuls each of the gold, silver, and bronze coins. Tightening the string to secure the bags, he turned to see Snape already back in the mine cart. He nodded to the goblin as he passed, and sat down in enough time to see the goblin shut the vault.

After a quick but equally fearsome cart ride, they were standing in the lobby. The Professor led Harry to a different desk and waited impatiently for the goblin to attend them. After a wait that Harry could tell fried Snape's patience, the goblin finally looked up.

"Yes," he sneered, peering down at the pair.

"I'd like this changed into muggle pounds please." Snape responded, handing over a small bag of coins, "and this as well." He took one of the bags from Harry.

The goblin carefully counted out the coins within, weighing them on a scale. After that was done, a stack of pounds appeared on the other side of the scale, which the goblin quickly thumbed through and handed over the desk. He repeated the actions with the second bag, the resulting pounds Snape ordered Harry to put in the wallet. With his task done, the goblin turned away from the pair, scribbling something down on a piece of paper. The Professor grumbled and led Harry back into the sunlight.

Snape led Harry to the trunk shop, selecting at first a single compartment trunk. Harry did manage to talk the Professor into a 'deluxe' model; it had a bookshelf compartment. It could hold up to three hundred books and not take up any room in the trunk. Plus, it could automatically retrieve the book you asked for without having to root through the whole shelf. Harry gaped when he found that it could shrink to a deck of cards size or expand to normal size with the tap of a wand.

Store by store, Snape led Harry around, gathering all his supplies. The wandmaker's was the oddest shop, and Harry couldn't stop staring at the wand in his hand, wondering about 'You-Know-Who.' He was determined to ask Snape later. The pair stayed a while in the apothecary with Snape suggesting extra items for Harry to buy. The longest stop though, was the bookstore, Flourish &amp; Blotts. There, Harry bought all the essentials on his list, plus piled on a few extra books; an extra potions book, an encyclopedia of ingredients, a wizarding primer, a couple recent history books, and an introduction to politics book were all thrown on the top of Harry's stack along with multiple others. He was most interested in the book Hogwarts, A History though. Harry also snagged an owl-order catalogue. He didn't know why it was called that, but he'd like to be able to get more books.

After Harry had placed the books in his trunk, carefully arranging them by author, Snape shooed him into Madame Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. Twenty minutes later, Harry left with an armload of new robes, and grumbled about the obnoxious boy that blathered on incessantly about his wealth, and who obviously had a superiority complex.

"Mr. Potter." He looked up to see Snape leaning against a wall on the other side of the alley, a cage by his side. As Harry approached, Snape raised the cage and Harry could see a bright white owl sitting inside. "This is a post owl, a common familiar in our world. She will carry your mail for you."

"Th-thank you." Harry stammered, staring at the owl. She was magnificent, and her eyes gleamed with intelligence.

"Come along," Snape walked briskly down the alley, towards the Leaky Cauldron. Harry jogged a bit to catch up; the professor could move faster than he expected. They stopped right before entering the pub proper.

"Shrink your trunk, Mr. Potter, we are going into muggle London now." Snape opened the owl cage and told it to go to the Dursley's and stay out of sight until Harry arrived, then, after it flapped off, tapped the cage with his wand and it shrunk. "I've put the same type of spell on this that is on your trunk," he said, handing it to Harry. "Simply tap it with your wand and it will return to its natural state."

Harry nodded and tucked the tiny cage into his pocket with the tiny trunk. He then followed Snape through the dingy bar and out the door, into the sunshine. The surprises didn't stop for Harry as he watched the Professor hail a cab with practised ease. Clambering in the backseat, he shut the door as the cab zoomed off into the busy London traffic.

They finally stopped at a department store, where a salesperson was called over and told to outfit Harry with an entirely new wardrobe. The poor boy spent the next three hours in and out of fitting rooms, trying on way too many clothes. He ended up with a great selection, and wore a new outfit out of the store, throwing his old clothes and trainers in the bin. He left with very few pounds left in his wallet, but thought it was entirely worth it.

Snape took Harry out to dinner to a greasy fish and chips joint. Neither person talked at all other than to place their order so it was a fast and silent affair. After their meal, Snape led Harry into an alleyway off the main road, and shrunk each of Harry's shopping bags, which Harry stowed in the same pocket as the rest of his tiny treasures.

"It is now time to return you to your relatives, Mr. Potter." Snape said, turning to face the child. "When I take your arm, I want you to visualize very clearly your room at your Uncle's home. It has to be precise, down to the last detail." Harry gulped but nodded. The Professor held Harry's arm, and spun on his heels. Harry felt the world collapse and expand again. He opened his eyes, not realising he closed them, and saw that they were in his bedroom.

Snape looked around the bare room, grumbling under his breath. Waving his wand harshly at the bed, it changed. It stayed twin sized, but the mattress became much more comfortable, and the frame was changed to cherry wood. He changed all the wood in the room to cherry, and replaced the leg on that old wobbly desk that was missing one. Severus made the curtains and bed linens a deep emerald green, gave the room wall-to-wall dark blue carpet, and very pale blue walls.

Eyeing the bookshelves filled with muggle textbooks and fantasy novels, the man was surprised to not see any toys or other belongings in the room. Sure, there were a couple pens and notebooks on the desks, and a few scattered clothes on the floor, but there were no personal effects.

He looked down at his charge, re-evaluating his feelings about the child of his nemesis. He wanted so badly to hate this spawn of his childhood rival, but looking at the obvious neglect around him, he couldn't. He decided to let Lily's child be judged on his own merit.

Hearing a noise at the window, he noticed the owl he bought for the boy. _Why did I buy him a birthday present? I'm going soft, _he thought. "Open the window and let your owl in, Boy, then un-shrink and put away your belongings. I am going to go talk to your relatives and then take my leave."

He was on his way out the door when he heard. "Thank you very much Professor. I really appreciate all your help, and getting me the owl."

Snape nodded at Harry, "work hard at your studies. That will be thanks enough."

He turned without another word and went out the door. He had some Dursley's to talk to.

**Author's Note: **Thank you all for sticking with me, and I hope I am doing these characters justice. You will see a bit of an OC Harry, at least from the boy we all know and love, but I am trying to make these changes make sense. Let me know what you think.

Happy Reading!

**Next Chapter: **Changes


	3. Chapter 2: Changes

**Author's Note: **So Sorry about the long wait for this chapter. I had an internal fight with myself on how to move forward. Unfortunately, expect chapters to come out randomly. Sorry about that! Hope you like this chappie!

**Chapter 2: Changes**

Severus Snape grumbled as he marched up the stairs at Number 4 Privet Drive. What was supposed to be a quick talk with the Dursleys ended up taking much longer than expected and with a different outcome. Severus could not change his mind, however much he wanted to. Something had to be done. Reaching the bedroom of Harry Potter, Snape rapped three times on the door.

He heard the sounds of the boy inside scrambling off the bed and racing to answer. When he opened the door a mere five seconds after the first knock, Severus could see that Harry was expecting bad things. He was pale and sweaty, eyes darting all around the hallway.

"Professor?" he queried. After all, Snape had said he was leaving.

"Yes Mr. Potter, I did not leave yet." The two males stared at each other, until thirty seconds later Snape said "are you going to let me into the room or are we just going to keep staring at each other?" He said it with considerably less malice than his usual way of speech.

Harry jumped aside as if he were burned. "Yes Professor. Sorry Professor." He followed Snape back into his bedroom, closing the door behind him.

Seating himself on the repaired desk chair, Severus surveyed the child. Though he was outfitted in clothes that fit him, the neglect of his relatives was still apparent. His eyes had large bags underneath them and his cheeks were hollowed out. The glasses he was wearing seemed to be held together more with tape than the original metal and screws. Harry was also a good six inches shorter than he should be, and twenty pounds too skinny. Yes, Snape was making the correct decision.

"It has come to my attention that your relatives are unsuitable guardians for you. Therefore, you will spend the rest of the summer with me. Arrangements will be made by the end of the school year for you to spend next summer with suitable guardians." As he was speaking, Severus was watching his young charge. At first, Harry showed fear, but as he kept talking, that fear gave way to joy. It startled Severus to know that someone was _happy_ about spending time in his presence.

"Well then," he said, standing and motioning the boy to sit on the bed. "Let us _pack_!" As he finished speaking, he slashed his wand. The trunk at the foot of the bed opened to the bookshelf compartment and all the books from the shelf flew into it. The trunk then opened the regular compartment and all of Harry's other possessions piled themselves neatly inside. The owl cage shrank itself and snuck in just as the lid was closing.

Nodding in satisfaction, the Professor glanced at the child. "Mr. Potter please make sure that we are not leaving behind anything you should wish to keep." Harry pulled his jaw up off of the floor and jumped off the bed, pulling an old blanket from underneath the pillow. He then dropped down to his knees and wrenched up a loose floorboard from underneath the bed. From this space, he took two sandwiches in plastic baggies, and a worn out, torn picture. He got up and opened the trunk, putting the blanket and photo inside and then, closing it, replied that he had everything.

Snape paled when he saw the sandwiches and turned towards the snowy owl. "Fly to Spinner's End. That's where your master will be." The owl made a barking sound and flew out the window. Facing Harry again, he walked over and shrunk the trunk, depositing it in a pocket. He held out his arm, turning on his heels and vanishing after the child grabbed on.

Harry dropped heavily to his knees as the twisting, contorting through space feeling ended. When he again taught his stomach where in his body it belonged he gazed around him curiously. They had landed in a ramshackle sitting room filled with bookshelves. Peering at the titles closest to him, Harry was amazed to see some muggle novels on the shelves.

Snape smirked as he watched the young boy move around the room with wonder. _He is definitely Lily's child._ Surprisingly, he found himself looking past Harry's appearance. He was not seeing a young James. Instead, he found himself amused by the child bibliophile in front of him. Giving Harry a few minutes to look around, Snape then called out.

"Come along child. I'll show you your room."

Obediently, Harry trotted behind the Professor as they left the sitting room. He tried to keep track so he wouldn't get lost in the house. The sitting room led into a hallway with a flight of stairs in the middle. To his left was the kitchen, right looked to be a study. Following Snape up the stairs and to the left, he spotted Snape's room, and the loo before reaching a door at the end of the hall.

Severus opened the door and let the child through ahead of him. Frowning as he entered, he raised his wand. A couple of _scourgify_'s later and the thick layer of dust vanished. Nodding, he lowered his wand and glanced at Harry.

"What is your favorite color?" The Professor's voice startled Harry out of the stupor he was in. This room was bigger than his one with the Dursley's. _This is mine?_ Harry stared around. "Mr. Potter. Please answer me."

Harry jumped. "Er… Green Professor." He watched in amazement as Severus changed the wall color to a light green, and the floors to a dark forest carpet. The four-poster bed in the corner got light green curtains and an emerald sheet set. Snape also changed all the wood in this room to mahogany.

Snape nodded in satisfaction as he looked around the room. "Right then, Mr. Potter," he started as he looked as Harry. The look of absolute astonishment on Harry's face gave him pause. On being addressed, Harry turned to look at the professor. "This will be your room for the duration of the summer. I expect you to keep it neat at all times. I am not your housekeeper." Harry nodded in reply.

"Dirty laundry will go in the bin in the bathroom and will be returned folded on your bed. It is your responsibility to put them away. Now, I will let you get settled in. I expect you in the kitchen for the evening meal in one hour." With that, Severus took one last glance around the room and swept out, shutting the door behind him.

Harry let out a breath and looked around, committing the room to memory. He had never been allowed in a place as grand as this, and now it was his! Was it only yesterday that everything had started? He had been a poor, unloved, burden to his relatives with no real items of his own, and now… Now he was a wizard and he had this really nice room to himself, and apparently a teacher who cared about him.

BONG!

The clock chiming the half hour startled him out of his reverie. Hastily, he moved to his trunk. He took care putting his clothes away in the dresser, the books in the bookshelf, and the other materials on the desk. He saw a strange hook that looked like a really large banana hanger near the window. Taking out his new owl's cage, he realized that he could hang it from the hook to become a sort-of perch. As he hung the cage, he heard a pecking on the glass. As if summoned, his new owl was outside the window, waiting to come in.

He spent a while petting her, trying to think of a good name, before he realized what the time was. Harry said goodbye to his owl, and raced down the stairs, sliding into the kitchen.

Severus looked up as Harry came speeding into the kitchen. Scowling at the child, he motioned to the opposite chair and watched as his charge sat. They served themselves in silence but Severus spoke before either of them took a bite.

"Harry," as the boy looked up, Severus drew a vial from his pocket, the liquid inside a sparkling bright blue. "This is a nutrient potion. I expect you to take one with every meal. And do not leave the table before you are full. Do you understand me?" Harry nodded at the Professor, glancing nervously at the vial. He handed it across the table and watched as the child drank it down.

"Now, we have some house rules to go over. First, meals: Breakfast is at 8:30, Lunch is at 1 and Dinner is at 6pm sharp. Second, there is absolutely no running or other wild behavior in the house. If you feel the need to burn off energy, there is a large backyard you can play in. With me so far?"

"Yes Professor." Severus was happy to see the child eating very well.

"You will have a few small chores while you're here, mostly cleaning up the dishes and such. You will also be responsible for keeping your room neat."

Severus was pleased to see Harry nodding. He wasn't scowling at the mention of chores.

He engaged Harry in general conversation over dinner and found that he was slightly upset when it was time for Harry to go to bed.

Harry spent the next couple of weeks learning about himself and his new world. He read through a few chapters of his History of Magic textbook before becoming utterly bored with it. It did give him a name for his owl though, Hedwig. She seemed to like it.

He happily read through his textbooks for Potions and Transfiguration, taking detailed notes to help him later. When Professor Snape saw his handwriting, he promptly taught Harry how to use a quill and made him practice every day. After two weeks, Harry thought, his handwriting was much improved.

His favorite book was Hogwarts: A History, but his favorite activity was Potions. Professor Snape allowed him into his private lab while brewing, and explained the process. He even let Harry help on a few of them.

Before Harry knew it, it was September the First and the day he was to go to Hogwarts. Harry was torn between wanting to stay at Spinner's End, and bouncing with excitement at the thought of studying in a castle!

_Hogwarts, here I come! _

**Next Chapter:** Hoggy Warty Hogwarts


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